agree with everything said above about exercise
awesome work, wharfrat!!!!

as far as diet goes, avoid process food. eat fresh. vegetables. fruit. go to farmstands, or stay on the perimiter of the supermarket. maybe I'm crazy, but I love fresh vegetables and salads. once you stop eating dunkin donuts, you realize how bad those things actually taste (I was hooked for years)

and - if you have to splurge occasionally, make it a good splurge - no chips, instead have a piece of real cheesecake. you'll enjoy it more and won't have to go back to it as much.

I just read a great book- The Tao of Wu, written by the RZA, founder of Wu Tang Clan. In it he talks about becoming a vegetarian. His reason is because by eating meat you are eating dead things. In fact, it goes beyond eating meat to avoid dead things. But you should eat to live, and by eating dead things you are working against the natural rythms of your body. So raw vegetables and grains are where it is at. According to the RZA.

Positive mental attitude sounds so cliche but I think it's a 100% must have to be successful in just about everything especially a personal journey like weight loss or bettering your lifestyle and health.

Did weights yesterday and used resistance bands for the first time yesterday and I really enjoyed using them. I may use those on one of my lifting days or do half weights and half resistance bands. You can really push yourself and you get a nice burn.

I forgot to mention that if anyone has any good low-fat, low-sugar recipes, please feel free to share. If you have a favorite cookbook or website, throw it out there.

We're not really following a diet per say but are eating a lot leaner meats, way more fruits and vegetables and fiber and lots of low fat stuff. Just watch out for the added sugars in the low fat stuff. I'm reading labels very carefully nowadays.

Keep on keeping on peeps!

[Edited on 2/13/2011 by croky]

____________________"May the good Lord shine a light on you....make every song you sing your favorite tune..."-

Most of you that follow me on FB know what I have been up to the last 15 months.
It was a rough beginning, but I am 100% dedicated to turning my lie around -in every way.

As far as exercise, I am currently do between 40-60 minutes cardio 5-6 times a week.
Elliptical, stair machine, treadmill (walk), row machine.. you name it, I do it.
The key is to never do the same thing! I do different machines for different amouts of time.
I added serious weightlifting to my routine around September and it has made a huge difference!!!

As far as diet - I really struggled with this in the beginning. I tried the low carb thing (again) with spotty results.
Then a good freind finally convinced me to join Weightwatchers. My intial thoughts that it was just for women. It is geared that way, but there are plenty of men on it as well..
There really isnt anything "offlimits" per se.. its just about smart choices.

But the biggest thing I have changed is mental. You have to WANT to do this.
You have to keep a positive frame of mind as much as possible.
I made a point before I started this to remove as much negativity as possible from my life.
That is when I started to spend less time here ( Total trainwreck here then - pre mods)
And it also meant distancing myself from certain familiy members, but so be it

As of last Thursday, I have lost 163 lbs.
Yes folks it can be done!

Great job Chuck! Hope to see you at the Beacon this year, but not sure I will be able to recognize you!!!!

____________________The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. Albert Einstein

Setting a goal for your health is such a great thing. If you keep working at it steadily and recording your progress you will eventually get there. Nothing like setting a goal and acheiving it to get you to set more.

Wharfrat and Jacquie you guys are awesome and you both know it is all about mental.... last year I turned 60 and decided to run a 1/2 marathon for my 60th birthday well I did it and the training was awesome running 20 to 30 miles a week I got into great shape my personnel boogie man is still portion control but i am still working on it .. I maintain my wt. by running but it would be a lot easier if i ate better portions I eat good food and almost never eat fast food .. It can be done just do it..

____________________"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the
Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." -Henry Ford

About half of my adult life I've been into distance running. But a few months shy of 40 years old (Feb 2009), I decided I wanted to get in better overall shape as I approached 40 years old. Here are some things I've done that have worked for me since Dec 2008:

1) Perfect Pushups - you can buy them at Walmart/Target. They are great (don't do these if you've had rotator cuff problems in the past). I started with the basic program that came with the set.

2) Abs - find some routines on the internet and work in 3 times a week.

3) 5K etc - sign up for a race that is a few months from now. Even if you walk it, signing up for a race is key to actually getting ready

4) Record keeping - write everything you do exercise wise on a calendar. I don't go into detail about rep counts or weight amounts - I just write enough so that I will know what I did, miles etc.

5) Cut down on white foods. If there is a non-white (wheat substitute) do it.

After 18 months of perfect pushups, pullups, ab routines at home, I started working in some dumbells. Now I work in the gym in addition to this stuff, but the key was getting started with the above first.

I need to get back on my diet. I lost 23 lbs. last year around this time but have managed to gain 18 or so of it back. Having read about Alan Woods having his heart attack, and mind you he's not overweight or big like I am, it is an eye opener, because he and I are the same age. I'm at the age where it's "do or die." Right now, my BP, blood sugar and triglycerides are on the borderline. I'm not a time bomb or anything, but it's not going to improve itself.

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